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Missing Crystal Lake Boy’s Parents Charged in Son’s Murder

The parents of Andrew "AJ" Freund, the 5-year-old boy missing from Crystal Lake, Illinois, were charged with murder Wednesday after police said they recovered what they believed to be the young boy's body. NBC 5’s Dick Johnson reports.

(Published Wednesday, April 24, 2019)

The parents of Andrew "AJ" Freund, the 5-year-old boy missing from Crystal Lake, Illinois, were charged with murder Wednesday after police said they recovered what they believed to be the young boy's body.

Joann Cunningham and Andrew Freund Sr. were both charged with the death and disappearance of AJ, authorities announced Wednesday, one week after the child was last seen and six days after he was reported missing.

Cunningham was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, four counts of aggravated battery, two counts of aggravated domestic battery and one count of failure to report a missing or child death.

Freund Sr. was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery, one count of aggravated domestic battery, two counts of concealment of homicidal death and one count of failure to report a missing or child death.

Crystal Lake police and the FBI announced Wednesday that they had located the body of 5-year-old Andrew "AJ" Freund, and that murder charges have been filed against the boy's parents.

(Published Wednesday, April 24, 2019)

Police said both parents were questioned overnight and into Wednesday morning after information was obtained during a "forensic analysis of cell phone data."

"Once presented with the evidence obtained by investigators, both Joann and Andrew Sr. provided information that ultimately led to the recovery, what we believe is the recovery of deceased subject AJ," Crystal Lake Police Chief James Black.

The cause of death was not immediately known and police said it would be determined "at a later date."

"To AJ’s family, it is our hope that you may have some solace in knowing that AJ is no longer suffering and his killers have been brought to justice," Black said. "We would also like to thank the community for their support and assistance during this difficult time. To AJ, we know you are at peace playing in heaven’s playground and are happy you no longer have to suffer."

The following morning, Freund Sr. called police to report that his son was not in the house and that they had canvassed the neighborhood, went to a local park, checked an area gas station and called his school - but AJ was nowhere to be found, according to the 911 call released Tuesday.

Moments later, evidence technicians brought items from an evidence van into the Crystal Lake police station. Those items included a mattress, a large bin, two large brown bags, and an item that appeared to be a shovel with a long wooden handle.

Police scoured the area surrounding the family's home for days after the boy's disappearance, searching hundreds of acres of land and water before centering their investigation on the house, saying they found no evidence of an abduction.

The boy's parents initially told authorities that they put him to bed at their home around 9:30 p.m. on April 17.

"We have a missing child," the father told dispatchers at the beginning of the 911 call the next morning, later saying they had checked "closets, the basement, the garage, everywhere" in the house to no avail.

On Tuesday, McHenry County State's Attorney Patrick Kenneally urged anyone who may know something to come forward. Kenneally said the worst thing someone could do in the case would be to conceal the truth.

“We will literally be working on this case every day until we find AJ or get justice for him," he said.

Police also asked the public for any video surveillance from the area in the days leading up the time the boy went missing, specifically for video taken between 7 a.m. on April 15 and 9 a.m. on April 18.

"This would include video from home surveillance devices like the Ring Home Security System," police said in a statement Tuesday, asking the public to email jmattson@crystallake.org.

The missing boy's father continued to stay at the family’s home throughout the search, meeting with investigators over the weekend.

"I have no control over what people think," Freund Sr. said over the weekend. "I just want my son to come home, OK?"

Cunningham retained an attorney early in the investigation and was not cooperating with police based on advice from her lawyer, who said she was being treated as a suspect and alleged authorities had stopped searching for the boy - a claim Crystal Lake police denied.